hertsmas

Lo all, I have looked at this a bit and hifx seemed good and they certainly have a nice online ' portal'.

However despite offering leading rates they will charge me £9 to send a small amount each month to Spain , but I see other similar companies and even my bank charge £4. I know its only a fiver a month and its not going to be free but I might as well hunt the best deal.

So who do you use and are you happy they are good value etc .
I know there's a lot of talk re Spanish banks here
(and ive found it very useful)
but I need to firm up on the regular payment side in the UK at the same time and do it all together.

Cheers

EsuriJohn

Currency Fair.

Brilliant takes a bit of getting used to but charges are very low €3 per transaction. It is just about possible to do the whole thing within the working day if you are slick but well able to complete a purchase and transfer in 24hrs. They now have regular payments ie weekly, monthly etc.

Tried most of the others never used a bank they are just outrageously expensive. Hi fix, Baydon Hill, Curriencies 4 Less, Hargreaves Lansdown and others so had a bit of experience.

Also TTT MONEYCORP, Rational FX.

hertsmas

I just had a quick look and it seems you are quite right ! , this is why you ask others who have done it. They seem about £6 per transaction ( all included) cheaper. Do they still do the regular monthly payment setup same as hifx ?

They don't have a demo video on the website like hifx and don't 'seem' to mention a regular payments setup.

Cheers

dartholemew spaceinvader

Agreed - Currency Fair. Cheap, good, quick, easy ..... all the good superlatives.

You can also trade currency, so if you want a good deal you can transfer money to Currency Fair and then leave it there until an exchange rate you prefer is available. (Assuming you are happy to leave cash in somebody else's account of course!)

chrisjolly

I use Transferwise..small fee for transfer and no charge from your Spanish bank as the funds are transferred within Spain. You send the funds to their UK account and the rate is always mid price for the day which at the moment is 1.31. Its very easy to use..just go to their website and create an account.

lutonlad

I use Currencyfair. Very pleased so far.

There is a lot of turmoil in the Forex markets because of the Swiss franc situation. A few firms have gone bust according to the news - hopefully not too many.

CapnBilly

I sent some money through CurrencyFair by faster payments this morning, took about an hour arrive in my account. I exchanged at about 40 pips under the market, and it's now winging its way to Spain for €3. It will arrive on Monday, although as EsuriJohn says if you deal by about 11am it's normally in your account by the end of the day.

EsuriJohn

I changed some this morning and to my astonishment in the open market option we managed about 10 pips over interbank rate. I have sent the cash to my Spanish bank and would expect it be in my account by 12 pm tonight.

SportyPorty

Same. Quick and easy service.

Kenwoodlad

Another vote for CurrencyFair, best we've found. In the past have used Hargreaves Lansdowne and FairFx. CurrencyFair's exchange rate and €3 fee wins hands down.

SportyPorty

No €3 fee with Transferwise. So ideal for smaller transactions. Today I needed to send €6.odd to someone and it cost me a £5.odd. Unsure how the actual rate compares with CurrencyFair, so if you have a BIG transfer to make, it's best (as always) to shop around, but for smaller transactions, I think it's one of the best.

amideislas

For small amounts its hard to beat PayPal. Low cost and it's instantaneous.

For amounts over say €1k, its better to use a transfer service.

PetenKim

We used Currency index for a large amount but they only charge £7 for smaller amounts. I agree Paypal is useful if it's only a few quid (or the euro equivalent). Like changing holiday money in the past, it depends on the rate as a higher rate and a charge may be better than no charge on a poor rate?

amideislas

AFAIK virtually no exchanger would ever claim to charge a "commission". Virtually all exchangers claim "no commission".

But that doesn't mean it's free. It only means they don't charge a certain percentage for each transaction. They may charge a flat-rate fee and still qualify to be "no commission". But whenever they claim "no fees or commissions" then it has to be clawed back in the exchange rate. It's not philanthropy.

Nothing is free. Particularly most things that are claimed to be "free". "No Commission" is generally far more profitable than charging a "commission" anyway, and besides, charging a "commission" would be perceived to be undesirable anyway - even if the net result would be better than a "no commission" exchanger.

PetenKim

The only question to ask really is - I want to change X - how much will I get in exchange?